Me- Hi, this is Rachel Garrett calling, the Assistant Principal from College Street Elementary. I was hoping to speak to .....
Parent- Um.... it is me.... (sounding terrified)
Me- Great, do you have a few minutes to talk?
Parent- Yes, what did my kid do?...
I used to dread these conversations. Not because I don't enjoy talking to parents or despise the discipline part of my job, but mostly because the majority of my phone calls were negative. Parents came to expect that when they heard my voice, it was bad news. Most of my co-workers would tell you that I am one of the most positive people they know, so when someone this positive has to be so involved in negative phone calls, well, it is just painful.
Most students, and especially our student population, need more than the typical 3:1 positives in their lives. Coming into this year, we knew that we needed to be proactive and come up with a plan to decrease discipline referrals and increase positive parent relationships. The best way to stop misbehavior is to recognize students who ARE doing what is right and giving their best efforts. When this is a teacher's focus, miraculously, the students who typically misbehave want the positive attention and will work hard to be recognized. We knew that this was the key to decreasing discipline referrals so that students could be in the classroom learning, feel confident, and go home sharing the good news from school. After attending Todd Whitaker's session at TEPSA 2014 this summer, reading one of his books on parent communication, and spending a session in our inservice about how to address the 7 habits into parent communication, the "Positive Office Referral" program came to life.
This is how it works- Every adult in our building is looking for students to apply the 7 Habits of Highly Effective people in authentic ways. When an adult catches a student going above and beyond or a student has "begun with the end in mind" and met a goal they set, the adult fills out the positive office referral, also known as "Caught Being a Super Cougar" award. The teacher then gives the positive office referral to an administration. The next morning, on our student-led morning announcements, either myself or the principal call the student to the library and share to the school on the announcements their "victory", the habit they followed, and teacher notes. We congratulate them, then bring them to the hallway where they get to ring our very loud Cougar Victory Bell, which can be heard anywhere in the building. When the bell is run, you can often hear calling from classrooms to support the student. We then write an encouraging principal note at the bottom and give the Positive Office Referral to the student to take home. This, alone, is powerful and has encouraged student recognition and positive school climate. However, it doesn't end there!The administration that recognized the student then picks up the phone and calls the parent of the student to share this good news. I can NOT wait to make these phone calls each day. It is so amazing when the school and parents can come together to celebrate a student in this way. To hear the pride in a parent's voice is an amazing moment. Here are some things that I have heard from parents during these phone calls:
" I thought you were calling about his lost planner. Well, this is just fantastic! I have never gotten a call like this before. I guess I will let him have dessert tonight after all."
"Mrs. Garrett, this is the 2nd time you have made a call like this to me. I really like it, but seriously, what is going on in this school?!?! There is so much positivity!"
"I have never gotten a call from an administration for my son doing something right. This has just made my day. Thank you so much for taking the time to call me. I can't wait to tell my son how proud I am of him."
"Last year, all my daughter and I heard was what she was doing wrong. Now my daughter believes that she can do anything she puts her mind to thanks to her teacher and you all. I finally feel like I have something to praise her for at home."
Some of these phone calls even result in parents shedding tears of joy and appreciation. I have noticed that these students often come to school happier in the mornings after these phone calls. The positive atmosphere is now turning their homes into more positive places, as well.
The parent phone calls that I used to dread have been taken over by these positive phone calls, my new favorite part of the day. Even the not-so-positive phone calls have become more bearable because parents are more supportive when they know that we will also call with the good. It is amazing the power of one positive phone call!
